WONDERFUL THAI COOKING

Find out more about the harmonious Thai Food

Thai food is internationally famous, whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland,
harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a
marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined
into something uniquely Thai. The characteristics of Thai food depend on who
cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked to
suit all palates. Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a
waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plants and herbs were major ingredients.
Large chunks of meat were shunned. Subsequent influences introduced the use of
sizeable chunks to Thai cooking.

With a Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of large animals in big chunks.
Big cuts of meat were shredded and laced with herbs and spices. Traditional Thai
cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the
introduction of frying, stir frying and deep-frying. Culinary influences from the
17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese. Chillies
were introduced to Thai cooking during the late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries
who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America.

Thais were very adapt at reconfiguring foreign cooking methods, and substituting
ingredients. The ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil,
and coconut milk substituted for other daily products. Overpowering pure
spices were toned down and enhanced by fresh herbs such as lemon grass and galanga.

Eventually, fewer and less spices were used in Thai curries, while the use of fresh
herbs increased. It is generally acknowledged that Thai curries burn intensely, but
briefly, whereas other curries, with strong spices, burn for longer periods.
Instead of serving dishes in courses, a Thai meal is served all at once,
permitting dinners to enjoy complementary combinations of different tastes.

A proper Thai meal should consist of a soup, a curry dish with condiments, a dip
with accompanying fish and vegetables. A spiced salad may replace the curry dish.
The soup can also be spicy, but the curry should be replaced by non spiced items.
There must be a harmony of tastes and textures within individual dishes and the
entire meal.